User Reviews

Was really in the mood for a good DIPA, and what a surprise, Alpine delivered. Dyan mentioned that he'd had the growler for over a week, which I thought amazing considering how fresh tasting this beer was.

BB pours a lovely golden peach color with excellent head retention and considerable lacing. On the nose, this beer is a thing of DIPA beauty. I get a huge blast of orange citrus, light pine, mango, pineapple and a slighty skunky marijuana aroma. Mmmm... On the palate this beer is delicious, though the flavor profile is not as intense or complex as the aroma profile. Still, the beer otherwise replicates the nose, with a fairly long, impressively bitter finish. This DIPA is very much in the west coast style, with the sweet malt dialed down and the beer coming across as fairly dry and bitter. The beer is no more then medium bodied, and has a mouthwatering component that I always love to see in a DIPA/IPA. Drinkability is excellent, with the alcohol no more then a fleeting after thought. For a 9% beer, this beer is far too easy to drink.

iowaherkeye on RB sent me a growler of this, along with a growler of O'Brien's IPA, both of which will be destroyed today. Thank you, Joey.

Does Alpine make a bad looking beer? Crystal clear light orange with a dense white head with excellent retention and lacing, this is a phenomenal-looking beer.
The nose is big and hop forward with some pine and some grapefruit. Moderately floral, there's also a complex citrus hop character present, rather orange like. As expected, malt is non-existent.
The palate opens with a pretty big hop character (surprise), dominated by flavor hops in favor of bittering hops (surprise again). A melange of pine and plenty of citrus are present, with juicy tangerines, grapefruit zest-like bitterness, Plenty of floral character, this really is a class apart from most other DIPAs out there. Drying on the finish, my palate is covered in hop resins. Light in body with moderate carbonation, this beer is killer. I could drink a LOT of this.

It is good to live in San Diego where I live so close to places that make very good beer. Alpine Beer Company is one of these places. I have made three worth while trips to Alpine Beer Company and everytime I have gone there I have inquired about the Badboy. It is a beer that should be shared with good friends. This double I.P.A (aka San Diego pale ale) is a beer that brings relief to the strife of the everyday stress. From its wonderful honey color to it's heavenly aroma and beautiful taste, this beer can bring a smile to the most weary face.
If you are visiting the area of San Diego County and you like a good beer, I suggest a trip to the Alpine Beer Company for a growler of Badboy. There is another option if you want, you can always go to bed.

What can I say? This is an exceptional local IPA. Actually, this style should be called a San Diego Pale Ale, because the double IPA style was invented here. Time to give the San Diego brew culture their due.

The first time I tasted this beer I was impressed. My friend brought over a full growler, but he left with an empty one. This beer is worth the trip up the hill to the Alpine Beer Company. Unfortunately, they don't make enough of it, so be sure to check before making the trip. Not to worry, though -- they always have something awesome to offer.

Thank you Pat for starting the Alpine Beer Company, and thank you Val for your warm hospitality and sense of humor. You guys always make our day. Keep up the good work!

The Bad Boy pours a golden orange color with a great looking frothy white head and lots of retention on the glass. The pour is extremely clear. The smell of this DIPA is noticed as soon as the top of the growler is popped. Aromas are quite hoppy with the usual citrus grapefruits and subtle pines. Quaff is dominated with bitter hops and has a lingering dryness to it. Other characteristics that round out the flavor profile include plenty of pines and fruits including pineapples, grapefruit and lemons. Some malts are also tasted. Mouthfeel has some dryness to it but a nice hop tartness and full bodied. Drinkability is extremely high for this DIPA. I have heard comparisons to PtY. Little alcohol is tasted with lots of flavor as well as hops. Excited to try other Alpine IPA's but compared to Nelson, this one gets my vote so far.

Growler shared by largadeer on BA, who got it from another BA in the San Diego area. Big thanks to all parties who contributed toward getting this bad boy (which happens to actually be called "Bad Boy") into my mouth. I never mind trying a new Alpine IPA/DIPA, that's for sure.

Pours a brilliant clear copper color with a one-finger white head and great lacing.

Aroma is amazing and dominated by a complex hop character: floral, piney, citrusy, and...um...weedy. Not too much malt.

Flavor has just a touch of sweet malt, similar to Pliny almost, but is almost all about the hops. Fresh, intense floral, piney, and orangey/grapefruity hops. Oh yeah, some good ol' Mary Jane too. Who doesn't like that?

Medium bodied, clean, and crisp, with palate-wrecking hops. Damn near the perfect mouthfeel for this style.

Extremely drinkable. Amazing DIPA, on the same level as Pliny the Elder, if not even better. I will definitely seek out this "bad boy" in the future.

A - This beer has a healthy amount of gold color with some light amber in the background. The eggshell head is light and sticks around for maybe a minute or two. It recedes to a cap that barely covers the top of the brew. Lacing has a definite presence. Color is lighter than expected but that isn't always a bad thing.

S - Starts with sweet citrus right off the bat. Maybe some blood orange with a little mango backing it up. Aroma gives way to a more bitter grapefruit around midway. Tobacco pop in midway to end. Alcohol pretty well hidden in the aroma. Light caramel and bread are present on a very distant tail end.

T - Taste somewhat follows aroma. Sweeter fruitiness up front. I'm getting orange, mango, and tangerine. Bitterness is more pronounced in the flavor. Grapefruit is in the mix but seems to get overcome by an earthy / piney flavor. Tobacco and grass come in around midway and stay through til the end. Finishes off with cookie dough...orange flavored cookie dough. Alcohol is noted but it ties in well with the other flavors.

M - Medium bodied with a fairly light carbonation. Finish is very dry and abuses the palate (in a good way).

D - Drinkability is good for a beer o this stature. It pretty much fits a bill that any hophead could come to love. All the flavors come together in a balance that makes this brew pretty special - sweet and bitter hops, malt backbone, ABV that stays mostly out of the way, etc. Hands down, one of my favorite Alpine brews to date.

Bad Boy pours a golden color. It's very clear and bright with backlighting. A soft white head caps it off. It's relatively modest and is about a finger in depth. It's quick to recede to a surface covering, and holds there for a bit. Lacing was a little sticky, but light. I'm excited. It looks too light to have much caramel malt. Excellent!

The nose is nothing short of excellent. Hops are front and center and are very prominent throughout. They're primarily citric and feature grapefruit, orange, and mango scents. However, there is a nice dose of pine in the mix, as well. There is some malty sweetness present, but it smells mostly like pale malt. It does have a sweet, sugar cookie scent. Fortunately, there's very little caramel malt to discuss. I love that. Its presence is minimal. Alcohol is, surprisingly, nowhere to be found.

The flavor is fantastic. It kicks off with a delicious hop flavor. It's full of delicious grapefruit and pineapple flavor. There is definitely some pine in there. Slightly resiny. It's bitter and dry. Nicely done. The malt base seems predominantly pale. It's sweet and sugar cookie-esque. I am getting a little caramel, but not much. Overall, the hops definitely win the day. It remains full of delicious hop flavor with a nice bitter edge. Alcohol is blended very well and doesn't come through strong at all. I'd guess that this is in the 7% range, rather than 9%. It's masked extremely well. It finishes dry with a nice bitter hop kick.

Bad Boy has a medium body that's svelte and goes down easy. Carbonation seems light and perfect. Drinkability is very high. I'm splitting this growler, but I suspect I could take one down alone. This is damn tasty stuff that's dangerously drinkable. I'm feeling it already and I haven't even poured a second glass.

I'm super impressed with Alpine Beer Company's IPAs. They brew some of the world's finest. Honestly, I believe this is the best one of the bunch (that I've tried). Just comparing DIPAs, it truly is just a tad bit better than Pure Hoppiness. I'm that impressed with it. I hope that Alpine decides to bottle this at some point. It's worthy of it. The masses need to experience this beer. It's flat-out delicious. If you have a shot at a growler, go all out for it. It's worth it. Thanks, Jesse. This was awesome!

Pours a nice, bright gold with a little bit of lacing as it goes down. The aroma is absolutely wonderful, with loads of citrus notes and a bit of pine. The malt is in the background--more so than with Exponential or Pure Hoppiness--but only adds a little bit of balance, which is quite appropriate. The taste is much the same, with a really nice bitterness coming through. Medium-bodied and insanely drinkable given the alcohol. Another big hit from Alpine.

M-Medium leaning to medium-light bodied. Sharp and crisp with LONG lasting hop bitterness and a nice drying finish.

D-There is no way this can be 9%! I was shocked when I saw that. This is so poundable! My kinda west coast hop bomb! I shouldn't be surprised though as Alpine has a knack at cranking out beers like this that are top notch! Keep up the great work.

On tap at Alpine, I was excited to get a good sample of this beer. It was yellow in color, little head. The smell was kind of brutal hops. The flavor made me open my eyes a little wider between the extreme hoppiness, pungent aroma, and obviously high alcohol content of the beer. This was good and I wish I'd been able to drink a growler of this but you can't do everything especially when there is Duet waiting to be drank.

A: Hop hazed amber with a huge sticky white head that lasts and lasts. This beer has an almost greenish glow to it, a sign of excessive hopping?

S: Tangerine, grapefruit, rich resiny pine. Malt? No. Pungent as hell, I couldn't keep my nose out of the glass. One of the most aromatic IPAs out there.

T/M: A C-hop monster. Grapefruity, floral hops open this one up, leading to oranges, tangerines. Sticky, resiny bitterness soon takes over, but the bitterness is in perfect harmony with the juicy hop flavor. No real malt presence to comment on, the hops overwhelm everything. Light to medium in body, crisp, dry. Incredible stuff.

Big thanks to Dave (d0b) for sharing this bad boy. Served in a Fuller's imperial pint glass.

A - Three fingers of the dirtiest off-white foam, bordering on sandy blonde. Solid retention and lots of spotty lacing - the foam dissipates to a very thick cap that sticks around until the beer is almost done. Transparent golden colored brew that has a nice glow to it. Great looking stuff!

S - Candied citrus (grapefruit/orange), pine, and some dank earthy notes as well - it's very busy in terms of hop variety but they somehow seem to all work together. Like many DIPAs there is a healthy amount of sweet toffeed malt flavors that complement the citrus sweetness. Great balance and intensity.

T - This is a bit of a letdown compared to the smell, with a lot less of the citrus, and more pine and plenty of bitterness on the tongue and palate. There's a bread/dough character to the malt that comes out a bit more, and the sweetness is tempered a bit. The aftertaste is bitter, but surprisingly mild compared to the initial assault.

D - The 9% is incredibly well hidden, with no obvious heat in the taste or smell. It definitely will sneak up on you if you're not careful. Moderate carbonation and bitterness make this one easy to down in a hurry.

Big thanks to Jesse for letting me try this one. I had been dying to give these new Alpines a chance and he made it happen. Served chilled and poured into multiple pint glasses during the day, this one was consumed on 05/29/2009.

The pour was just spot on. Rich amber in color, bright as could be with loads of carbonation just rippling up to the surface throughout the session. Really nice head of white, huge foamy bubbles just going up and down the side of the glass throughout the session letting me know this was going to be a biggie. Huge smack of citrus hops right out of the gate. Dripping with orange, grapefruit and tangerine notes. Just sticky and resin fresh here. Warming only adds enough sweetness to change it over to a more orange like flavor. Super smooth with the ABV all but absent here,. The first taste just shreds the taste buds. Literally just wave after wave of rich citrus hops thrashing the mouth and leaving all else in its wake. Tons of dry notes on the finish and the overall flavor was just exactly what I needed. Long lasting taste of pineapple was sublime on the way out and just left me in the dust with a great big smile on my fast.

Overall this one is one of the freshest and smoothest big IPA's I have come across in quite some time. I polished this growler off in the afternoon, though I have to admit it hurt a bit, it was wonderful. Go get this one, it can hang with the big boys any day.

On tap at O'Briens.... also on cask, but I thought the tap version was much better, so that is what I'm reviewing.

A- light golden with thin light cap. Great clarity.

S- Hops definitely jump out. More of an earthy hop flavor than most beers which focus on a citrus or pine.

T- Earthy hops, lots of it. Finishes really dry so there's not a whole lot of sweetness of any kind that I can detect here. Showcases the hops really nicely.

M- For a fairly big beer they make this feel almost like a IPA, which gets major props. Nice and dry. No syrupy action going on here at all.
___

Had on tap at O'Brien's again 2/18/10. Even more impressed with it this time. Got more of a citrusy rind bitterness out of it, not really tropical or anything but like citrus rind oils. Very bitter and very dry.
Increased appearance, smell, and taste to 4.5 from 4.0.

A: Pours a golden orange/amber topped with a solid inch of head. Tight laced, but spotty foam lines my glass.
S: Distinct and crisp hop aromas abound. Delicious citrus notes are balance well within this IIPA.
T: Clean and crisp balance of hops. Citrus continues, with a light lemon-like flavor. Very hoppy, but in a good way. Light pine taste, but not overly bitter.
M: Very crisp and smooth. The body holds its flavor very well. The hops are not overwhelming, but make their presence well known.
D: Very palatable. Smooth balance and profound drinkability for a beer of this ABV and in this style. Bad Boy taste sessionable, but I think after a few the ABV would catch up to me.

Taste is slightly rich initially and finishes with a well carbonated and oily orange citrus flavor. Overall the brew appears a bit thin in body, not having much of a malt balance. Yet what is there cloaks the ABV surprisingly well, improving drinkability. This brew seeks to maximize hops and ABV while keeping those pesky malt calories to a minimum, or not. Yes, perhaps that's just a well manipulated illusion as the bitterness is kept in check. Another fine IPA from Alpine that is rich and robust yet convinces you otherwise after a few sips due to its enticing flavor.

Had this on tap at Toronado in August. Pours a dark golden with little head and some lacing. Smell is mostly piney hops with some faint malt in the background. Taste is very dry and a little slick with some fruitiness up front and a long earthy hop bitterness. Very dry and attenuated. This one was good, but a little dryer and one dimensional than I expected. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I thought I would.